At Walford, we believe that the middle years are a time to develop the skills, resilience, and confidence that shape both learning and life. Friendships sit at the centre of this journey. They bring joy, belonging and fulfilment, while at times also presenting challenges that test patience, empathy and perspective. 

As part of our Navigating the Middle School series, students in Years 7, 8 and 9 recently presented to parents on the theme of friendship skills. This unique event not only showcased what students have been learning through our wellbeing and leadership programs, but also created an opportunity for families to gain practical insights into supporting their daughters through the adolescent years. 

Framing Friendship: Rupture and Repair 

The evening began with Ms Alice Stratford, Assistant Head of Secondary School, who reflected on the journey of navigating friendships in the middle years as one that is shared by students, families and schools together. While the roles of each may differ, she emphasised how much the values remain aligned. It all comes down to helping girls flourish socially and emotionally through consistent, supportive messages. 

Ms Stratford outlined Walford’s evidence-based wellbeing approach, embedded through the Wellbeing, Engagement and Belonging (WEB) Program and continually refined using insights from the ACER's Social and Emotional Wellbeing Survey. She explained that friendships in the middle years are expected to experience both rupture and repair. Rather than avoiding conflict, Walford equips girls with the emotional literacy and reflective skills to face challenges with kindness and self-awareness. 

Importantly, students are taught to recognise their locus of control—understanding what lies within their influence and what sits beyond it—and to approach friendship challenges with patience, compassion and maturity. 

Using the metaphor of Kintsugi, the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold, Ms Stratford reminded families that repairing a friendship can lead to something even stronger and more beautiful than before. This message encapsulates Walford’s values of Community and Growth, offering students both perspective and hope. 

Exploring Friendship Skills Together 

The student presentations that followed brought these ideas to life:

• Year 7 students used skits and role plays to show how everyday friendship challenges can be navigated with empathy and resilience. They introduced parents to the four parts of an apology: 
  1. Acknowledgement – recognising what happened.
  2. Awareness of impact – understanding how the other person was affected. 
  3. Promise not to repeat – committing to change behaviour.
  4. Say the words – “I am sorry”. 

• Year 8 students turned their focus to kindness, gratitude and inclusivity, sharing examples of everyday acts that contribute to positive relationships and highlighting how even humour, such as the 'post-school whinge', can help families reframe daily stresses. 

• Year 9 students invited parents to take part in an interactive activity, What’s in Your Backpack?, prompting reflection on the 'loads' carried through life and adolescence. They also shared what they had learned about brain chemistry in adolescence, helping parents understand the developmental changes that influence behaviour and friendships. 

Friendship Tips from the Middle Years 

Hearing directly from students gave parents a valuable window into the adolescent experience. Among their practical advice were three key takeaways: 

• Redirect gossip – An upstander can change the course of a conversation by gently steering it away from negativity. 

• Sometimes it’s about listening, not fixing – Adolescents don’t always want parents to solve problems; often they simply want to vent and feel heard. And as students reminded parents with a smile: listening works even better when accompanied by snacks! 

• Apologies matter – Repairing a friendship takes courage, but a thoughtful, four-part apology can transform conflict into connection. 

A Program Tailored to Developmental Needs 

The evening demonstrated the scope and sequence of Walford’s bespoke wellbeing programs, carefully tailored to meet the developmental needs of each year level. This intentional design reflects the dedication of our Middle School Mentors, whose work is informed by both lived student experience and robust wellbeing data. 

Living Walford’s Values 

Throughout the evening, Walford’s values of Courage, Commitment, Community and Growth shone through. Students demonstrated courage in sharing their learning with an audience, commitment in their preparation, community in their collaboration, and growth in the skills they are developing to navigate friendships with confidence. 

For parents, the evening was both insightful and reassuring—a reminder that while adolescence can bring turbulence, it also offers profound opportunities for learning, resilience and connection when home and school work together. 

Looking Forward 

The friendships edition of Navigating the Middle School reflects Walford’s ongoing commitment to holistic education. By equipping girls with the strategies to manage friendships, and by involving parents in the journey, we prepare our students for lives of empathy, connection and leadership. 

At Walford, we don’t just guide students through the middle years; we empower them to flourish.